


Wait for me, love

by mayaaminmin



Series: Pepperony 2020 [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bingo, F/M, Healing, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Pepperony - Freeform, Pepperony Bingo 2020, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Pepper Potts, Therapy, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Trauma, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23093179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayaaminmin/pseuds/mayaaminmin
Summary: Tony decided to visit the therapist Pepper recommended to him ages ago when he first returned from Afghanistan.And slowly, Tony began to heal.Pepperony 2020 Bingo: Proposal
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Pepperony 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664098
Kudos: 42
Collections: Pepperony Bingo 2020





	Wait for me, love

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Pepperony fic, please be gentle TuT

After the Avengers' break-up that followed what the media has dubbed their 'Civil War', Tony decided to visit the therapist Pepper recommended to him ages ago when he first returned from Afghanistan.

His mental state was never all that great to begin with, and the stress of his kidnapping and the various global threats he'd dealt with made it exponentially worse. Before, all he'd had to deal with was the expectations his father placed on him that he could never hope to achieve. But now?

There is probably not a therapist in the world that could possibly understand what Tony had been through, but Joanne had promised that she'd do her best, and Tony had to try. For Pepper, at least.

Their relationship had cooled down after the Ultron fiasco. Tony understood that Pepper couldn't handle the stress of not knowing what would happen to him, and he admitted that he wasn't exactly doing a good job of dissuading her fears. He'd been acting just as reckless and impulsive as when he'd first gotten the arc reactor embedded in his chest, and he couldn't offer her any stability. Hell, he almost died at tue hands of his closest teammate. 

They were still close friends and Pepper was still the CEO of Stark Industries, so they were friendly and comfortable, and there was no bad blood between the two at all, but Tony missed the fire and energy and tenderness that was Pepper Potts' love.

So here he was, doing his best to process everything he'd been repressing for the past thirty years with a poor therapist who probably thought he needed to be placed in a psych ward for the rest of his life.

After he'd relayed the bare events of the fight between him and Steve, the mess of the Accords and the Avengers, the whole Steve's-best-friend-assassinated-my-parents-and-he-knew-but-he-didn't-tell-me, and the slightest dip into his emotional trauma from Howard's A+ parenting, Joanne took some notes and nodded firmly.

"Alright, Tony, I understand that you have experienced a great deal of trauma in your life, especially in these recent years, and that these are weighing you down heavily," Joanne pushed her thin metal glasses up before continuing, "but I believe that I can help you process and work through these traumas"

"That's one way to say my life's pretty fucked up, Jo," Tony sighed and shook his head, "but do you really think you can handle it?"

"It will take a lot of time and patience on both our parts, but my answer is always yes, Tony."

"However, the question is; are you willing to handle it?" Joanna asked pointedly and Tony had to look away, "We both need to cooperate for this to work, after all."

_Can I really do this?_

Tony closed his eyes and thought of Pepper. He thought of the strong, intelligent, and capable woman full of infinite concern and patience and love for him. He thought of their first awkward approach towards each other, when they were still boss and assistant, then their sparkling energy as they debated heatedly with one another and exchanged quips and snark like lightning, their soft, tender moments when they were overwhelmed by the world and only had the energy to hold onto one another, their fiery and passionate dance as they burned brightly, together, only for each other, an unstoppable force against everything the world had to offer.

"Yes, I can do it." Tony answered determinedly and Joanne smiled.

"Let's start with something simple."

And slowly, Tony began to heal.

It took many, many months of processing hard and painful truths and releasing decades long fears and anxieties, but it was worth it. Pepper was worth it.

After a year and a half of consistent therapy, Tony tried restarting his relationship with Pepper. She had been hesitant at first, but she was willing to give it another try. They weren't perfect, far from it actually, and they'll probably never be, but they were happy. Slowly, but surely, he was healing. Pepper stayed by his side through it all, reminding him to rest and eat when he loses track of time tinkering in his lab, sitting and talking with him when he gets a nightmare or panic attack, encouraging him when he's having a particularly bad day, saving him from Ross and the other Avengers when they try to bother him. Life is hard, but it goes on; Tony heals and Pepper waits, never pushing or demanding him for perfection or anything like that, simply content with his promise of their happy, imperfect tomorrow. 

One day, when Tony pulls out a ring and asks Pepper to marry him, he thinks that this is as perfect as life gets when Pepper says ‘yes’.

**Author's Note:**

> Not your traditional proposal fic, I know, but I believe it was necessary for Tony to work through and unpack all his Baggage for him to be truly happy and that's what I wanted to write and see. And I'm just not good with proposal scenes hnnnng it never comes out the way I want it to T^T.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are appreciated! You can find me on my main tumblr @mayaaminmin if you wanna chat!


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